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The Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia: After an explosion in Philippe Boutron's car, Paris is considering abandoning it (archive image)
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Florent Gooden / imago images / PanoramiC
The ongoing Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia may be canceled.
The French government classifies an explosion in the vehicle of French driver Philippe Boutron before the start of the event as a possible act of terrorism.
“We're wondering whether it would be best to call off this sporting event.
A decision has not yet been made, ”said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to the TV broadcaster BFM.
"There may have been a terrorist attack against the Dakar." The prosecutor opened an investigation.
On Tuesday, the French anti-terrorist prosecutor's office initially initiated preliminary investigations.
The incident occurred on December 30th at the start and finish point in Jeddah, the rally organizer spoke of a "sudden explosion".
According to his team, Boutrons had an operation on his leg in the Jeddah military hospital, and was later flown to France.
French organizer
The Dakar is organized by the French company Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also organizes the Tour de France.
Like the OSA, the Saudi authorities had announced that they had no evidence of a crime.
Nevertheless, the safety precautions around the rally camp have been significantly strengthened.
Le Drian has now said that French investigators are planning to fly to Saudi Arabia.
He called on the organizers and local authorities to be transparent.
The race originally ran from Paris to Dakar in Senegal.
In 2008 the event was canceled due to terrorist threats in North Africa.
The Dakar was subsequently held in South America, and Saudi Arabia has been the host since 2020.
The sixth stage with start and finish in Riyadh was won on Friday by the Argentinean Orlando Terranova (Prodrive) after 421 kilometers.
Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar expanded the overall lead.
The three-time champion has a lead of 50:19 minutes over his Toyota brand colleague Yazeed Al Rajhi (Saudi Arabia).
Saturday will be the first and only day of rest; the end of the race is scheduled for January 14th.
hba / Reuters / dpa / sid